Does Your Mother Know
You and Owen respond to a distress call, and in the process uncover yet more secrets. Cast * Owen * Sam Yao * The Builder Plot Be Careful With It The Ministry has put out a general call for assistance to rescue a baby left alone in a house - you're heading there with Owen. A Burst Of Speed Owen talks about his childhood, and wonders whether you're running into a trap. What Was This Guy Into? Sam tells you the book you found in Moonchild's bunker reveals the original Edda was censored. The house is like a paradise in a post apocalypse wasteland - except for the Netrophil signs everywhere. Take The Baby You enter the house to find the baby safe and sound, but her father was shot at close range. The body is still warm, and it sounds like the killer might be upstairs. Must Be The Murderer! As you flee, a group of zombies follows. Owen theorises about who would shoot a father, but is cut short when Sam spots a man with a gun chasing after you. A List of Netrophil Agents Sam starts panicking until you're joined by a familiar voice: The Builder. It was him in the house, there to rescue the baby. He reveals the baby's father was a double-agent, assassinated by Netrophil to stop him talking. The Builder takes the baby and leaves. Once you're alone Owen shares a list of Netrophil agents he found hidden in the garden. Transcript SAM YAO: Alright, are you guys ready? OWEN LANDIS: We were born ready, mate! Well, more accurately, we’ve been ready for about three minutes. SAM YAO: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry, sorry. The Ministry put out a general call for assistance. I was just letting them know that we’d take it. OWEN LANDIS: Yeah? And they’re not worried about old Five-o here going all mind control again? SAM YAO: That wasn’t mind control. It was a hypnotic trigger. Five’s fine. OWEN LANDIS: Yeah. I don’t really understand what you found, Five, but I know Ellie from New Canton practically fainted when they told her! SAM YAO: Well, yeah. Well, I can explain it as you go. Anyway, the Ministry are pleased with us. Not that we care what the Ministry think. But still. OWEN LANDIS: Okay. Alright. So, what is it today? Big deal assignment? Generators, intel, arms cache? SAM YAO: Baby. OWEN LANDIS: Oh, mate. Not one of those zombie babies, right? Those things freak me the hell out! SAM YAO: No, no, no. Real live baby. Ministry had an anonymous Rofflenet message from a farmhouse west of here saying there was a baby all by itself, left completely alone. Defenseless. OWEN LANDIS: Yeah, not many babies are great at self defense. Still, imagine if it was Rambo Baby! SAM YAO: Yeah, look, babies don’t come out like that though, do they? They need their dad and their mums. All three of them. OWEN LANDIS: Oh. Oh, mate. We’ll go get that baby, Sammo. Piece of cake. Let’s go. SAM YAO: Covering fire! gunshots Raise the gates! siren, gates raising And go! And look, be careful with it, okay? OWEN LANDIS: I reckon your baby’s going to be golden, mate. I mean, three parents! Even if Paula’s thing doesn’t get better, and if you, I don’t know, get eaten by zombies, it’d still have a whole parent! I reckon Maxine could do it all by herself. So there’s nothing to worry about. SAM YAO: Uh, thanks, mate. That’s comforting. OWEN LANDIS: I mean it. Maxine’s a tough cookie, and a doctor! Kind of a single mum who’ll survive no sweat. SAM YAO: I uh, ah, yeah. I might prefer it if we weren’t having a conversation about how my son or daughter’s going to do when I inevitably die. OWEN LANDIS: My mum brought me up herself, you know. Dad pissed off before I was born. Just me and her. She had me when she was seventeen, and she rocked it. SAM YAO: Ah, right. You um, you never talk about that. OWEN LANDIS: No. Loads of people are brought up by single mums. Nothing special. So hey, this anonymous message though, about the baby. We’re sure it’s not some kind of fiendish trap laid by a supervillain? SAM YAO: Well, you can never be sure of that, obviously. But it looks kosher. Baby was registered with the Ministry. Victoria Benz, ten months old, living with her dad, Victor. Oh, wait. He’s Victor, he called her Victoria? People. Anyway, uh, yeah, they own a smallholding. Mum was pulled to pieces by a zombie mob early on, yada yada. But they’ve been doing okay, sounds like. OWEN LANDIS: Until now. What happened to the dad? SAM YAO: Yeah, well, we don’t know. Oh, that poor baby! All alone, not knowing what’s going on. OWEN LANDIS: Alright. Burst of speed, Five! OWEN LANDIS: So, you were going to tell us about those new verses Ellie’s so excited about. SAM YAO: Aw, yeah! New bits of the Edda of the Wakened Warriors, you know? OWEN LANDIS: I don’t. You know. SAM YAO: Right, okay. Edda of the Wakened Warriors. Classic Viking saga. A history of the Vikings in Britain. It’s all, you know, voice “King Thorsten sent his warriors, his bravest, for to seek the wizard Loki.“ Well, "wakened warriors” we think might have been zombies! They’re working on translating it, and it’s taking ages, because, well, not many scholars of Old Norse happen to be around after the apocalypse. To be fair, there weren’t many before the apocalypse. But yeah, it’s quite interesting, actually! Five found a chunk of this book that everyone thought was destroyed in the fifteenth century! OWEN LANDIS: Did someone drop it in the bath? SAM YAO: Ellie explained it to me. The theory for centuries was that a chunk had been eaten by rats. But now they’re looking at the complete version. There are sentences which someone cut out of the manuscript. It was censored! OWEN LANDIS: Censored? By - ? SAM YAO: Church authorities, maybe? Because, well, it’s a bit close to the bone with the rising from the dead stuff. Or maybe some king. Or uh, did they have the Board of Film Classification in the fifteenth century? OWEN LANDIS: laughs Probably more like Board of Stained Glass Window Classification! Uh, hey! Hey, I think I see it. Crest of the next hill, right? SAM YAO: Uh, yeah. That’s the smallholding. Sheep, goats, chickens. Wheat, veggies. Orchard, bees. Their own well! A land flowing with milk and honey. And goats. OWEN LANDIS: Pretty sweet setup! Secure, too. SAM YAO: Yeah. That’s a relief. Zom-proof fence, looks like. OWEN LANDIS: It’s like my mum’s place in Kurrajong. SAM YAO: Oh, yeah? She had a smallholding? OWEN LANDIS: Well, it was more of a sheep farm with seventeen thousand head. SAM YAO: Wow. Uh, kind of a largeholding, then. OWEN LANDIS: Yeah. She built it from nothing. Nicole Landis Farms! Started as a shearer, ended up owning it! She’s determined, you know. She’s a fighter. People said she should call our business Sweet Meadows Lamb, or something. But she wanted her own name on her own place. SAM YAO: She sounds tough. OWEN LANDIS: Eat you alive, mate! laughs Janine reminds me of her, a bit. But my mum likes a tinny and a giggle! laughs The wall around the place is intact, Sam. No sign of zombie entry. SAM YAO: That’s probably good. OWEN LANDIS: We’re going to have to cut our way in, though. Hate to do it. chain-link Nearly through. rattles Hey, Sam, can you see these signs through your cams? SAM YAO: Uh, I can see that there are signs, but not what they say. OWEN LANDIS: They’re weird. Loads of stuff about Netrophil and water purity all over them. Stuck up all over the property! What was this guy into? baa OWEN LANDIS: This farm is nice! Immaculate. The plastic’s still on that Allen Scythe! Those veg beds – I’ve never seen anything better weeded in my life. And I saw the weed out at Skoobs. SAM YAO: Yeah, it’s weird! Why would someone leave this? OWEN LANDIS: Mate, we know why. Dad got bitten. Parents put their kids first SAM YAO: But then who put it on Rofflenet? OWEN LANDIS: Maybe the dad, with his last gasp. SAM YAO: Seems weird he wouldn’t have said. OWEN LANDIS: He probably wasn’t thinking straight. Worried sick for his kid. That was all he thought about. opens, baby laughs And there she is now. Well, hey there, Victoria! I’m Runner Six, and this is Runner Five. Hey, Runner Five, want to check that cupboard, see if there’s any spare um, nappies, bottles, anything like that? Victor seems like he’d have a lifetime supply tucked away. opens, body falls out Oh. SAM YAO: What? What is it? I don’t have cams inside the house. OWEN LANDIS: It’s uh, Victor. Dead. In a cupboard. SAM YAO: About to turn zom dead? Eaten by zoms dead? Heart attack while hiding in a cupboard for some reason dead? OWEN LANDIS: Shot through the temple at close range dead. Body’s still warm. Can’t have been shot more than an hour or two ago! footsteps Mate! SAM YAO: What was that sound? OWEN LANDIS: There’s someone upstairs! SAM YAO: Take the baby and get out of there! Run! OWEN LANDIS: Oh, mate. Zombies. SAM YAO: Oh, sorry! Sorry! They must have been hiding behind those trees. OWEN LANDIS: Never rains, but it bloody pours, mate! Carrying a baby - how many’s that? - five zoms close behind us! SAM YAO: Uh, only four, actually. Oh, no, wait, no. One was shambling behind another. Five zombies, yeah. And uh, another four are approaching from the left. OWEN LANDIS: And the plan is? SAM YAO: Uh, flatland everywhere, no stairs, no bridges to demolish, no cover, no trees to climb. Uh… oh, wait! Maybe try a McShell. Run in opposite directions, funnel the zombies forward. OWEN LANDIS: Can’t do that, mate. Got a baby. Have to stay together. If one of us falls, the other carries on, right? SAM YAO: Right. So, uh, keep running, and uh, don’t look back. You’re keeping pace, but they’re close. OWEN LANDIS: Hey, why not distract ourselves from the living dead by thinking for a minute about how that farmer Victor ended up dead? SAM YAO: Uh, something to do with Netrophil? OWEN LANDIS: His place was full of all their posters and stuff. Books, newsletters, real conspiracy nut. But who’d shoot a dad? SAM YAO: Um, robbers? OWEN LANDIS: Nothing was taken. Place was secure. You should be able to survive somewhere like that indefinitely. SAM YAO: Like your mum. OWEN LANDIS: Yeah. Twenty-four miles of electrified fence, water hole, grain for growing and planting, enough sheep to live off for the rest of your life! That’s how I know she’s okay. SAM YAO: You haven’t heard from her. OWEN LANDIS: I mean, there’s no way to contact some people in Australia. Rofflenet signal only travels so far. But I don’t need to hear from her, mate. I just know. She’s just out there, surviving. Probably some others with her. Farm hands, people who heard she had a secure place. They’re farming, and there’s scouting watchtowers at the edges of the property, and if any zom makes it through the desert before it crumbles to pieces, then bang! Mum’s a deadeye shot. laughs Nicole Landis Farms. People talk about it. That’s the place to go. Little piece of heaven. SAM YAO: Hey, you’re losing those zombies. sighs Although there are some more coming in from the right. Oh no, crap! There’s a man with a gun approaching behind you from the house! He’s coming fast. It must be him, the murderer! Run! SAM YAO: Okay, okay, keep calm, keep calm! You’re going to get Victoria home, and it’s all going to be okay, and you’re not going to get shot by a mad gunman! OWEN LANDIS: Yeah? It’d help if you could say that like you actually thought it was possible, mate! SAM YAO: Right, yeah. Okay, sorry. It’s just - children in danger, it’s a whole thing. I just – okay, okay, focus. Ah, I’ve called Janine, she’s sending a Jeep for you. You just need to keep out of that guy’s way until - STEVE SISSAY: Abel runners! Circle left, I’ll take the zoms! SAM YAO: Ah, oh wait, it’s just that guy from New Canton! Steve Sissay, the Builder. sighs I don’t know. The Builder, the Minister. Where do they think they’re from, Gallifrey? footsteps STEVE SISSAY: Runner Six, Runner Five, great to see you both. OWEN LANDIS: How are you here? STEVE SISSAY: Oh, I was in the house, upstairs, looking for a teddy for uh, Victoria. Kids sleep better if they’ve got something that smells familiar. Figured if I was taking her out of the home – Hey, Victoria! Hello. Do you want Mister Ted? SAM YAO: You could have bloody told us! STEVE SISSAY: Ah, yeah. laughs Sorry, no transmitting headset. I was just out for a run when I heard the distress call on my radio. Thought I’d do what I could. Didn’t know you were on the way until I saw you both bolting out the front door, pursued by zombies. OWEN LANDIS: And you just happened to be here, right where this corpse turns up? STEVE SISSAY: sighs Yeah. You’re right. No, not a coincidence. Victor was Netrophil. You saw that? OWEN LANDIS: Yeah. STEVE SISSAY: Word was, he was ready to turn on them, speak to the Ministry. I had a watching brief. I swing by here every few days to make sure he’s okay. I must have missed something. Netrophil got to him. Killed him to stop him talking to us. SAM YAO: Aw, man. STEVE SISSAY: Hence no holes in the wire. Benz probably let his killer in. At least the killer had the decency to call us so that the kid wouldn’t die. One thing you learn in an apocalypse, you can’t save them all. Now, Victoria, hello, sweetheart. The Ministry has a rehousing program for infants, now. I’ll take it from here. Good work, Owen. I think your mum would be proud of you. OWEN LANDIS: Yeah? Well, I don’t think that’s for you to say, mate. STEVE SISSAY: You’re right, it’s not. I’m sorry. I hope you see her again someday. Hey, Victoria! I’m Steve. You want to come with me? laughs Come on, darling. Good girl! runs Looks like your ride’s here. Five, Six, it’s been a privilege. I’ll be seeing you soon. honks OWEN LANDIS: Right. He could have offered us a lift. SAM YAO: Was it me, or was that - ? OWEN LANDIS: Really dodgy? Yeah. I mean, how much do we trust the Ministry? SAM YAO: Mm, I’m going to say sixty percent? Fifty percent. Fifty-five percent? A bit more than we don’t, but not much. OWEN LANDIS: Alright then. This is just for you and me, Five. And Sam. SAM YAO: Switching to secure transmissions. OWEN LANDIS: I saw something back at that farm, is the thing. Allen Scythe with the plastic still on, when those crops has obviously been plowed by hand! Why would you waste a good piece of agricultural machinery like that and do the work by hand? SAM YAO: If you don’t explain what you mean, I think I’m going to actually die of suspense. OWEN LANDIS: I opened up the top of that Allen Scythe. Found something in it. Look. rustles Looks like a list of Netrophil agents, active all over the country before the apocalypse. Category:Mission Category:Season Four